The Royal Palace
The 'Royal Palace '''is the seat of the Primonarchy, the Loft, and the centre of administrative authority on Eia, located in the northernmost district of Erwood City in Yrdachai. Defended by the Monitorast and the Scaenchai, the Palace is the site of the holiest and most sacred ground in all of Eia, wherein the Primonarch of Eia resides. Features Gallereon Primordia At the heart of the Palace lies the ''Gallareon Primordia, a colossal dome structure sitting beneath the Pillar. ''Within the Gallereon Primordia is the Ministers' Circle, a sub-structural village built into the inner wall of the dome, climbing to the near top of the hemisphere. It is the dedicated residential estate for the Palace ministers of highest nobility and hierarchy. At its centre stands the Erwood Tree upon a preserved and untouched dais; a ground so sacred that to so much as touch it is punishable by death. The circular room contains several entrances to other wings and departments, the two largest being the long hallway to the main gate and the great doors to the Throne Hall. During the Age of the Antecedents, the Erwood Tree was young inside a natural cavern, lit by a small tunnel of light above it, therefore the Palace was built with that in mind. The Pillar The Palace's most notable feature, however, is its sky-piercing tower known as the ''Pillar, ''a gargantuan beacon tower that reaches the original height of the mountain it was carved from. Brutalist-by-design in comparison to the rest of the Palace, the Pillar is supported by an ever-rising complex of smaller structures, towers and offshoots, asymmetrical due to its top-down construction. This chaotic system was unavoidable after centuries of additions being made to accommodate the needs of the Primonarchy, but necessary for the very fact of the Pillar being largely hollow. A gaping hole spans a tunnel from the very top right down to the Gallereon Primordia, mimicking the original cave system that once was, capped by an enormously thick sheet of glass that magnifies the daylight to bring warmth and normal levels of light to the very depths of the Palace. Every department and room inside the Pillar borders this tunnel, known as the ''Star Shaft, ''and the most wealthy and authoritative figures are permitted to live in the shaft-side apartments that have windows into the heavenly abyss. During the Black Collapse, the Pillar was destroyed by a significant explosion at its base. The entire structure crumbled and fell on top of the Palace which in turn destroyed most of the supporting buildings as well as airships orbiting it. The Throne Hall Separated from the Gallereon Primordia by ''Ywin's Door, ''the Throne Hall modestly lacks the grandeur of its neighbouring departments, remaining subtle and minimalist in its design with very little to look at other than the obelisk-like Throne itself. The great stone floor boasts the engraving of the entire Niarist Scripture, north of 20,000 words. All around the walls of the Throne Hall are the preserved swords of every deceased Primonarch that were recoverable at their respective time periods. As a Primonarch dies, there are 13 days of mourning before their sword is placed upon the wall, signifying their complete departure from Eia. The entire room is lit only by available natural and ambient light, due to the belief that to artificially light the Primonarch upon his/her Throne is to mock the sun, and furthermore, ''Niara, ''when it is unable to reach them in their most valiant position within the Palace. This creates an imposing atmosphere for all who enter the Throne Hall seeking audience with the Primonarch, often subconsciously reminding subjects of their place. Post-Evacuation In the decades that followed the Black Collapse, Erwood was left for the most part, untouched. The Holy City had been desecrated beyond imagining and was made forbidden ground. This allowed nature to reclaim the ruins over time, and by the Battle of Eia of 1794 it was almost entirely carpeted in woodland. Since the Palace had a sizeable wildlife ground on the north side, it was one of the first buildings to be reclaimed. The Gallereon Primordia was the most intact structure after the devastation, seeing only damages to the top of the now-exposed dome where life crept in towards the Erwood Tree. The Palace became a popular tourist site some 200 years after the event. A guide of the neighbouring Estoland showed immense fascination in his writings; ''"To think this was once the seat of the most powerful people, in the most powerful city of the most powerful nation on Eia, and not considerably long ago either, eludes me every day. How envious I am to be acquainted with people who's great, great, great grandparents were stood on these very grounds, going about their normal lives. How the drawings of this place can be accurate, I do not know, but what a marvel it was. I stand now every day in the green echo of this ancient wonder of the world, how I wish I could rebuild it and see it how they did."